Healer Games
by Wyrdfayth
Summary: Morgan lived in a country at war. All she ever wanted was to study, but the combat pulled in everyone in time. The future looked bleak. ...Then, Morgan woke up in the back of a van, unsure how she got there. Introduced to the world of Pokemon, she finds herself with little choice but to play along and forge a new path. A twist on a pair of ORAS Nuzlockes set in an alternate Hoenn.
1. Welcome to Hoenn

_THUMP._

The loud sound and sudden feeling of falling jolted Morgan awake. As she hit the ground once more, she quickly realized that she must be in the back of some sort of cargo transport vehicle. Apparently either the terrain here was incredibly rough or this driver was terrible.

But why was she here?

The last thing she remembered, they had been planning to confront the enemy army at the mountain- or had the battle already begun? Her recent memory was a blur. She didn't see anyone else in the vicinity to ask, either, although she supposed it was terribly dark.

Morgan braced herself a moment too late for comfort at the next bump, but noticed the doors at the back pop open for a few seconds before a smaller bump closed them again. It seemed they were held with a fairly loose chain.

But moreover, in those moments of brighter light she had taken in her surroundings: she'd say no less than two dozen cardboard boxes, and at least one bed strapped to the wall. So this was… a moving van? Hardly the place she expected to be.

Aiming to get a better look, she waved her hand and chanted a small incantation for light.

Nothing happened.

Alarmed, she tried a few more times to no avail. ...An anti-magic zone perhaps?

Suddenly, a small light source appeared.

"_Hello," _said an electronic voice.

Morgan startled slightly, but then examined the source. It was a rather sleek-looking piece of machinery, quite different from anything she was used to. The handheld device sported a small screen and a few buttons, the function of which she could not guess. On the screen itself, though, was a robust man looking something in his mid 30's to early 40's, and he appeared to be talking.. to her? Cautiously, she picked up the device and watched.

"_My name is Professor Birch, and I want to welcome you to the World of Pokemon."_

World of what now?

A small object in his hand cracked open, and light sprang forth to take the shape of a small blue creature. It was actually pretty cute, for looking so strange. To be fair, she supposed many of the things they had back home would look strange to outsiders as well.

"_My friend here is what we call an Azurill. There are many like her, and they are only one of the countless species of creatures that we call Pokemon. … And by countless, I mean estimates currently range around seven hundred. But we're always discovering more, you know?"_ The man gave a hearty laugh that made Morgan feel as though she was meant to laugh along. She did not feel like laughing.

"_Some people keep Pokemon as pets. Others, whom we call 'Pokemon Trainers', like to raise Pokemon for battle and have fun by fighting against other trainers!"_ The man on the screen gave a knowing look. "_Ahhh, but don't be alarmed! Pokemon are very resilient creatures, and fighting is in their nature for most. Yeees, they do love a good battle. Of course, accidents sometimes happen, but such is just in the nature of things. Pokemon enjoy getting stronger, and the trust they form toward their trainer's ability to guide them helps to form a powerful bond between the two!"_

Truth be told, had he presented it as combat rather than sport, Morgan wouldn't have seen a problem in the first place. However, the case he presented did seem persuasive. Although she had become quite certain she was not in Snaska anymore, she was becoming rather intrigued by just what sort of place this _was._

She watched for what must have been well over an hour as the video went on to explain the basics of Pokemon: battle, elemental types (so it seemed there WAS magic here!), and to her surprise, a massive permanent change in form referred to as "evolution". It was a lot to take in, and she was quite certain she had missed a few of the finer points, already wondering over how to replay the video if she had time. But Morgan always did absorb knowledge like a sponge, and she felt she was getting a decent idea.

"_Yes, truly Pokemon are fascinating creatures and a wonderful part of all our lives."_

... _You know_, thought Morgan, _I'm going to be pissed if this is just some sci-fi entertainment they left back here or something._

"_But what about YOU?"_ asked the video. Morgan cocked a brow. "_Are you a boy, or are you a girl?" _Two of the buttons lit up to correspond with the options that appeared on the screen, and Morgan's other eyebrow raised to match its mate.

"Hmm. Very curious," she mused. "Although your options are a little limited there," she added, a touch of bite to her voice. All the same, she hit the option for "girl".

"_Great! Now, will you tell me your name?"_ A keyboard appeared on the screen, and Morgan soon figured out which buttons moved the cursor and selected the letters.

"_I see! So you're a girl, and your name is Morgan Fayel. Is that correct?"_ That wasn't quite how it was pronounced, but Morgan decided she couldn't blame the machine for that and hit the option to confirm this information. "_Very well, Morgan. Now, let's step through the door to adventure! Your very own Pokemon journey is about to begin!"_

Morgan let out half a laugh at how terribly cheesy it was. What was this, the intro to a child's video game? _Oh dear, its even worse than sci-fi,_ she mentally snarked.

The sound of the chain on the door caught her attention, however, and it was only then that she realized the van had indeed stopped. ... OH. So was… the video telling her to step through the _actual_ door? That did make more sense.

She had no time to decide, for ready or not the metal panels flung open, and the light that flooded in momentarily blinded her.

"Ah, good, you made it in one piece," said a woman's voice.

As her eyes refocused, Morgan saw a woman perhaps a little older than the professor standing before her. "You didn't break any of our things, did you?"

Morgan blinked, partially still adjusting and partially from confusion. "E-...excuse me. _Our_ things?" She didn't _see_ anyone else, but?

The woman shrugged a little more dramatically than necessary. "Well, mostly my things, of course. Mine and my husband's. But naturally we wouldn't get a new pet without providing for her, yes~?"

...Pet? Morgan rubbed her temples and shook her head. "I'm sorry… **Who** did you say you were?" she asked. _**Who**_ _the __**hell **__do you think you are?_ she thought.

"Oh, how rude of me!" exclaimed the woman.

_I think you crossed that line somewhere in the neighborhood of kidnapping me…_ thought the would-be-wizard dryly. Some part of her was aware she should be more.. reactive, at all, but her curiosity currently outweighed her caution.

"My name is Genevieve, and I suppose you could call me.. Well. I'm your _savior_, dear." With a quick look around, she added, "Please, step outside, have a look around!"

With a smirk like that, Morgan would not have been surprised if this woman was employed in law or politics. But what were her other options? Sit in the van forever? She sniffed a private laugh, then stood and stretched a moment before complying.

She'd had only a small glimpse before with Genevieve and the house here taking up most of her field of vision, but the sight that properly greeted her now was breath-taking. The trees were the lushest and greenest she'd seen since childhood. The grass practically danced in the breeze, which seemed to caress her face as if she was its own most precious child. The scent of all manners of flowers and wild things filled her nose and made her think of home before the war, before even school and training. She felt somewhat… humbled.

"Now see?" asked Genevieve. "Better than home, yes?"

Morgan wasn't going to answer that. "But why am I HERE? And what's all this about pets and saviors?"

"Well we did rescue you from that awful battle, after all." Morgan wasn't entirely sure which battle, but had a feeling she wasn't going to get anything further. "You don't remember?" Morgan shook her head. "Ah… Just as well. It was a terrible sight, really. Perhaps it's better this way."

As they talked, a strange blue humanoid came from the cab of the truck, startling Morgan. "Oh, don't mind the Machoke. Mover Pokemon are terribly handy, but not always the politest bunch."

"...Right." So it seemed Pokemon could even resemble people. Interesting.

"As for the other bit… You did watch the video, correct?" Morgan nodded. "Well, here in Hoenn, we have a sort of… tradition, if you will. Locals such as myself sponsor foreign trainers on their journeys, and that device you have there- your PokeNav Plus- keeps tabs on your progress. The Hoenn forces rescued.. oh, I want to say it was a few dozen of you, but I'm not sure where the others have ended up. You though.. My husband took an interest in you. A shame you don't remember meeting him. At any rate, we've decided to make you our pet project, you see? Funding such a journey for you."

Morgan pursed her lips. "... So what I think you just explained to me is that you _bought_ me-"

"Oh heaven's no! No, dear, I promise you, the League would never pick up anyone who wasn't entirely willing. The way my husband tells it you were quite eager to get away. Are you sure you don't recall?"

Morgan sighed heavily. Last month one of her companions blew down a cafeteria wall with his mind because the microwave was annoying him, yet this was by far the strangest thing that had ever happened to her. Still, she supposed… It wasn't as though she had any way to tell whether or not the woman was lying, and it wasn't as though she'd never thought about just running away from everything. If things had gone sour, maybe she _had_ agreed to this?

"So… Is this like a test, or what?"

Genevieve touched a finger to her chin. "I wouldn't say a _test_ so much as… let's call it a game."

Morgan frowned. "Well, with all due respect, I'm not sure I'm interested in playing."

"Oh no dear." The accompanying tone was far too sharp for the words it spoke. "I'm afraid you don't have much choice."

"Is.. that a threat?" It was neither fearful nor audacious- simply a question.

"Well we won't hurt you if that's what you're asking." Morgan did not like the laugh that followed.

"So what would happen if I said no?"

Genevieve gave her a shrug and a forced-sweet smile. "Why… _Nothing~_"

Morgan's face contorted a bit and she opened her mouth to question, but found it took her a little longer to actually find the words to fill it. "... What uh…"

"We do _nothing_, dear. We leave you on your own, without a sponsor, without a Pokemon. With nothing but the clothes on your back in an unfamiliar land filled with weaponized fauna around every corner. Sound better?"

…

…

… Morgan sighed. "Couldn't just help someone out of the goodness of your heart, I suppose."

A slight shrug. "Afraid not, dear. Pokemon are pretty vital to survival here, but they're also very easy to misuse. I suppose it is a bit like a test in that regard, ensuring that newcomers can handle the responsibility. I could offer you a little money for food if you're bent on declining, but it wouldn't last long."

_What have I gotten myself into… _"And… if I comply?"

Genevieve's expression softened. "Then it's a mutually beneficial deal. We help you get on your feet and make a name for yourself, and in turn all you have to do is provide us with a little entertainment. We'll have a certain path you have to follow, and a certain set of rules to play by, both for ecological reasons and to make things more interesting, but how you approach the path laid before you will be entirely up to you. After all, it's seeing the ways different trainers react to their situations that makes it truly entertaining. That's why people are willing to sit through the same basic story over and over as long as the characters keep their interest, you know~?

"And if you make it to the end, you will regain your full freedom as well as citizenship. You can keep the Pokemon you've collected, and you can ask the league to pay for either housing in any Hoenn city of your choice or a passport and ticket to any region of your choice. Not to mention the status you'll earn with those following your journey. People love a good trainer's tale, you know~"

As much as she hated to admit it… "That uh.. That does sound more appealing."

"There's a girl~ Now come inside, and I'll explain everything you need to know."


	2. Rules and Rivals

A/N: The beginning of this chapter is a bit exposition-heavy as it explains the particular variation of Nuzlocke rules we used. Apologies for that, although I do hope it will help it appeal even to those unfamiliar with Nuzlockes.

On that note, this fic will be based on a combination of two Nuzlocked games, wherein my best friend played the "player" and I played the "rival". We each had slightly different restrictions in the long run, but this gets the point across.

-

_Boy does she love to talk._

Thus far, Genevieve had done a rather thorough job explaining the "rules"- and in all honesty, Morgan was getting the impression that the woman had a terrible pension for the dramatic. She kept alternating between warning of all the dangers and sugarcoating her own words, but upon removing the context from the presentation, Morgan found the challenge itself did not sound terribly difficult.

Some time later in the day she would get a Pokemon from the regional official on such things- the same man from the video before. (Apparently there were quite a number of regions in several different countries that not only had Pokemon but had taken to the fad of training them.) Then she would meet her pre-designated "rival"; Morgan had to admit, she hoped whatever other poor sap they had roped into their little game was as new to this as she was.

Genevieve had explained that spectating trainer journeys was an incredibly popular sport in Hoenn, and anyone could sponsor a trainer assuming one was available; but the wealthier the sponsor, the better the starting Pokemon and benefits along the way. The wealthiest sponsors often liked to set up rivalries in order to add further depth to their chosen trainer's adventure- or so she claimed. Morgan rather suspected it was as much or more to provide something to gamble on, but she said nothing of it.

Morgan, it seemed, was "lucky" enough to have rather wealthy sponsors.

The Pokemon League, the organization which sponsored this whole ordeal, set up Gyms for trainers to challenge along the way in order to "test their progress" and "ensure they were raising their Pokemon properly". Also, to create a way to quickly remove the unprepared trainer from the game. Conversely, though, clearing a Gym did have a number of benefits.

Genevieve's husband, Norman, was in charge of one such Gym. In terms of power in Hoenn, Morgan assumed this was akin to lesser nobility back home.

Moving on, though, Morgan would be allowed to capture only one Pokemon per "area", with each such area already marked in the PokeNav Plus; this was to keep wild populations thriving, just like any sort of hunting license. To keep things "exciting", though, it also had to be the first Pokemon that tried to fight her, no matter what that may be. Poaching would be punished harshly, according to Genevieve, although she would not elaborate further.

All this seemed fine, but Morgan did take issue with the rules for healing. In each town was a Pokemon Center which could tend her Pokemon's wounds, but they would only do so once per location without special permission, and it was all or nothing: they would not see single Pokemon at a time. Genevieve explained that it had something to do with conservation of resources and the equipment used, but it sounded an awful lot like excuses.

The Centers did offer free rooms and meager rations to competing trainers, however, which she could not refute too much.

And at least there were over-the-counter options, she supposed. Upon reaching the first town, she would be granted a "starter pack" in the form of virtual credits to be spent on whatever she'd like. "For security reasons", she would not have access to actual money. Each gym cleared would grant a little more to be spent, with each allowing more than the last. However, she would have to be careful to balance medicines against PokeBalls, as the same funds applied to both, along with anything else she might need for training reasons.

"Let's see…" Genevieve murmured. "Did I miss anything?"

Morgan was hardly in a position to answer.

"I'm sure I'll think of more later, but that should get you started. Any questions?"

_Aren't these creatures considered intelligent?_ she thought. That was certainly the impression she'd gotten from the video in the van. _Why are we cockfighting them?_ But she did not say it. _Better them than me, I guess._ So other questions…

"Any idea why I can't use my magic?"

The resulting look made Morgan check if she'd grown a third eye. "Your what?"

"My… My powers. My magic. My ability to manifest energy that affects the world around me through the act of reciting spells and incantations generally pre-determined by far more capable wizards than myself."

A long silence, then a laugh Morgan dearly wanted to believe was not as condescending as it sounded. "Dear, I'm not sure if you just hit your head in the van, but we don't have anything like that here. Unless you count Pokemon moves, I suppose."

Morgan sighed. "Never mind. I'll find out later."

"If you say so, dear." Genevieve did one last mental run-through, then shrugged. "We have a little time, so why don't you check the room we set up for you. I doubt you'll be by too much, but if you happen to be in this neck of the woods you can always rest your head here. If nothing else, make sure you'll be able to get a good night's sleep tonight so you'll be well-rested when the games begin tomorrow."

Morgan shrugged. "All right, I guess."

She had to admit, it was a rather nice room. The bed was perhaps a bit soft for her taste, but better than the outdoor camping she had grown accustomed to. Some sort of computer sat in a corner, but its operating system was entirely unfamiliar to her, and she felt she had quite enough to learn in a short time without adding more to the pile.

The clock on the wall, however, was a welcome and familiar sight. This Hoenn place was certainly strange, but it tracked the same hours, had the same days. It assured her that she was not, in fact, on another planet entirely- although the words "parallel universe" did still creep into her thoughts a few times.

She rested here about an hour, taking everything in and rewatching a bit of the information video included on her PokeNav.

At last, she recalled that although the games began tomorrow, she was supposed to get her starter today, and she wandered down the stairs to confirm as much.

As she reached the bottom, she saw a rather different Genevieve staring starry-eyed at the television. To her surprise, the look did not go away when the woman noticed her standing there.

"Oh, Morgan, come quick! It's Norman!"

Morgan's eyebrows rose a moment, but she complied.

"Hurry, hurry!"

About the time the screen came into her line of sight, though, an announcer concluded, "This has been a live look at the Petalburg Gym. Now here's Johnny with the weather!"

Immediately, Genevieve deflated. "Oh.. You missed him! My dear Norman was on, though."

"Huh," replied Morgan, unsure quite what the woman was expecting. "That's cool?" Was it unusual for gyms to get coverage, or did the eccentric and at times unnerving woman from before actually just transform into a lovesick school girl?

"Ah, forgive me. What did you need?"

"...A Pokemon?" Morgan replied.

"Right, yes." She straightened herself, and seemed to shift back into her usual demeanor. "Birch was supposed to call when he returned to his lab, but I suppose you can go check in case he's just getting in. ...Or forgot." The last bit was muttered a bit, but she left it at that. "It's the largest building in town and not far off; you can't miss it. If he isn't there, you might check his home, too. It's the house just across the field to the west there."

Morgan was about to make a snarky comment, but as she opened her mouth another thought occurred, and she found herself looking down instead. Did…? … It did! The PokeNav actually included a compass app. Well, that would come in handy. She was already falling in love with this little machine.

"You should probably head there anyway," Genevieve added.

"His home? ...Why?" Morgan asked.

"Well, to meet your rival, of course. Did I not say before? The professor is her sponsor."

Morgan's face went flat.

…. "Great…"

* * *

><p>Well, he wasn't in his lab, so Morgan hoped for the best as she headed toward the house.<p>

She wondered what sort of Pokemon would be available- and for that matter, what sorts there were. The video showcased dozens, but there were practically a thousand out there, assuming the information was even updated properly. If it had been a while since it was made, there might be even more!

And that was just in terms of species. She wondered too what sorts of personalities she'd encounter. Perhaps one like Persey, her magical pet back home. Of all those she'd left behind, Morgan probably missed Persey the most, but honestly, she knew that as long as the little weasel had something to fight, she would be happy. Even dying in combat would be to her as dying from overindulgence in ecstasy, and while that always made Morgan worry, ultimately she was happy as long as Persey was happy.

Perhaps most Pokemon were that way as well. Perhaps they really did enjoy combat to a point that it was worth the risk to them. She supposed it would be hypocritical of her not to support that if so.

Morgan found herself at the door and hesitantly knocked.

A weary looking woman greeted her and showed her in, a stark and homely contrast to the arrogance of her own sponsorwoman. "Sera will be so excited to meet you," she said as she scrambled for tea. Morgan felt it would be more polite to decline and save her the trouble, but… tea. To her, very possibly exotic tea. She supposed one cup wouldn't hurt.

"Oh, do make yourself at home by the way. She's upstairs in her room. Head right in, she shouldn't mind."

"That's uh-"

"Oh, go on, go on. I should be done by the time you're through with intro- oop!" She nearly dropped a plate, but caught it just in time. "Introductions."

But Morgan wanted tea, and to maybe not barge in on someone who was dealing with just as much confusion as she was, because privacy?

The woman- Mrs. Birch she assumed- insisted, though. Morgan sighed. _Guess I can just knock…_

Or… not. It seemed the stairwell poured directly into the girl's room? Who would _do_ that? Who would design a house like that? Or... had this been a living area once, perhaps? Whatever.

In the corner, Morgan spied a head of pink hair. The brightest she'd seen in Hoenn thus far, it reminded her a bit of her own scarlet hair, although it was long and limp-straight as opposed to her own mid-length curls.

_Similar, yet different,_ she thought. _Fitting for rivals, I suppose._

The girl noticed her then and startled, but quickly settled and brightly. "Oh, hi!" she almost squealed, bouncing toward Morgan to greet her. "You must be Norman's kid, right?"

Ha. The way she said that made it sound like he was her dad or something. How about no. Still, she got the intent. "I would hope so, or else there's a random stranger wandering through your house."

The girl, Sera, giggled at this, and Morgan had to admit that appreciating her humor was a good means to a good first impression, even if the girl did seem a bit… excitable.

"I do have to admit, with Norman sponsoring you, I was kind of hoping you'd be a guy."

...Because she was 'Norman's kid'? Was he some kind of sexist asshat, or what was the implication there, exactly? Whatever. "Hoping" was better than "assuming", at least, right?

"Hope I don't disappoint?" Morgan cracked a cheesy grin and struck a faux-sexy pose. "I think I could make a pretty nice guy, if it's that important. Wha'd'you think?"

Sera laughed, but shook her head. "No, you're fine. Sera, by the way!"

Morgan knew, but nodded at the formal introduction. "Morgan."

"Nice to meet you, Morgan! So~! Do you have a Pokemon yet?" Morgan shook her head, and Sera's smile brightened. "Well then hey! Maybe I should help you catch one some time~"

Morgan frowned a bit. "Uh… No, I was supposed to get one from the professor?"

Sera giggled. "Oh I know~ I was just teas- ….." Her face slowly shifted from grinning to gears turning to fearful realization. "Oh, crap! I was supposed to help him in the field today!"

A pile of papers went flying off her desk- wow, she had managed to accumulate a lot; maybe she'd been here longer than Morgan awaiting a rival?- as she practically tripped over herself racing toward the door.

"Oh wait I need-" she rushed back across the room and wrapped in a long red cloak, the grabbed a baske-

"...Are you cosplaying Little Red Riding Hood."

"...Maybe."

"..."

Well. If there was one high point to that, they apparently were familiar with the same fairy tales.

Sera didn't seem to notice the critical eye on her for more than a second, though, as she stuffed several things into said basket and headed for the door again. "Hey, c'mon! You should come with!"

Morgan started to object, but seeing as she failed to think of a good way to say 'no let me just hang around your house where I could easily rummage through your stuff while you're gone and chill with the lady who apparently has no sense of privacy', she soon gave up and followed.

As they quickly cut through the living area, a fragrant whiff of the tea Mrs. Birch had prepared caught her nose, but even as she wafted toward it, Sera announced, "Hey, we're going out, be back later!" Then she grabbed Morgan's arm and half-dragged her along behind.

A slightly surprised Mrs. Birch watched after them. "Oh uh.. All right, have fun girls!"

"But…." Morgan stared back at the table where Mrs. Birch stood waving. "Tea…"


	3. First Pokemon, First Battle

"Don't worry too much about the wilds, we're not going too far," Sera said.

"Shooould I be worried if we were going farther?" Then again, neither of them had a Pokemon yet.. did they? Sera had offered, if jokingly, to catch Morgan one, so had she already gotten her starter? Morgan hoped so. "And if you could let go of my wrist that would be great."

"Well then hurry up, Slowpoke!" The pun was lost to Morgan.

About the time she managed to reclaim her arm, a childish shriek arose. "Oh no, oh no, someone help!"

The girls rushed to see what was the matter. The frantic child stood where their path crested a hill, and at the bottom a rather large gentleman- Professor Birch himself it looked like- was being chased by a rather small animal. Judging from his reaction, however, the creature must have been quite dangerous.

"Someone, please! Ahh! Down, down girl!" He jumped over small rocks and skirted around a tree stump in an effort to lose her, but ultimately ran in circles (what did he think he was going to accomplish?) before falling down. The little gray Pokemon stood taller and moved in with imposing footsteps.

Sera gasped. "Oh no! Don't worry, I've got it!" Rushing forward, she reached into her basket-

And stopped cold. A stiffness came over her as her gaze slowly rose from the basket to the professor. "I…. um…."

"What are you waiting for?!" he barked.

A tiny whimper escaped her. "I forgot my Pokemon…"

"YOU WHAT."

Sera tried to smile, but her eyes showed something else. "I'll uh- I'll fix this, I'll be right back!"

"Sera, wa-" But she didn't hear. As she rushed off, Birch's eyes fell to Morgan, and he sighed in exasperation. "I swear to.. You! There are Pokemon in that bag there. Use one!"

Morgan pointed to herself questioningly, but then did as she was told. It wasn't like the little gray Pokemon was just going to loom menacingly forever- even if it did seem to be taking its sweet time, conveniently.

She saw three Pokeballs on top of the bag's other contents, and although she could faintly make out a form in each one through the barely-transparent red tops, she did not have a clear idea what any was nor have time to analyze them, so she simply grabbed one at random and released it as she'd seen trainers do in her video.

"KO!" A green reptile appeared, striking a combat pose and drawing the… pup's? attention.

"Ah good. Use your Nav!" Birch called.

Glancing down, Morgan found herself looking at a sort of battle interface. It provided her with information and vitals for the Pokemon she was using- Treecko, that was it- as well as a rough analysis of the opponent's vitals. Well that took out quite a bit of the guesswork.

Several "moves" were also listed on her side. While more advanced strategies were possible with practice, the more basic moves provided a good foundation for communication, according to her video.

"So uh…. Pound?" Morgan guessed. Almost immediately, the Treecko slammed his bulky tail into the pup, and Morgan found herself smiling. That was oddly gratifying; she was not accustomed to others doing what she said without question.

The opponent quickly tackled Treecko in turn, causing Morgan to flinch, but it seemed the damage was not too severe- or at least, rather less than it- she?- had taken from their own attack.

"Hm… Leer?" It didn't sound very imposing, but surely it was just-

It was not just a name. Treecko literally just leered at his opponent. ...How was that a designated move? To her surprise, the pup did seem to react a bit, but remained undamaged. She threw her full weight at Treecko again.

"Oh dear.." What was the last one again? Hm. Now that was an interesting name. "Absorb!"

All of a sudden, Treecko began to glow a faint green, and soon his opponent followed suit. Her eyes grew wide, her once-snarling jaw went slack, and she appeared to be trapped by this grip. Then orbs of green light began moving from her to him, each brightening his light and dimming hers until it had faded entirely.

What it left behind was a withered husk of a Pokemon, which staggered a few steps before falling down and ceasing all movement.

"Uh…." Morgan wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

"Treeeecko~!" her Pokemon sang, striking a dramatic victory pose. Well, he did look to be feeling better. Looking down at her Nav, she confirmed that his vitals were almost completely back to peak condition.

Well then. Draining another creature's life force did not sound like the most morally sound thing she'd ever done (although it was probably not the least either?), but doing so to restore her own- or rather her partner's- sounded like a fantastic edge in this game.

N-not that he was her partner officially or anything. But it was good to know, she noted.

"Ah, you handled yourself wonderfully!" remarked the professor.

"I just read the screen, really."

"Nonsense, girl. Your feelings were in tune with your Pokemon's, and that's why it performed so well!"

That did not sound very scientific, even by a wizard's standards, but Morgan shrugged. "If you insist."

"Now hey, recall that Pokemon and come with me to my lab." Come to think, the mechanics for recalling did not seem terribly scientific to Morgan either, but they appeared to work. It seemed there was much yet to learn about this place.

She was about to ask what to do about the pup, but when she looked, it was gone. How odd… Had it been okay after all? Gotten up and wandered off perhaps? No sense dwelling, though, she supposed.

The walk was short and mostly silent, but she could hardly complain.

Once inside, Birch turned to her. "So! You're going to be Sera's rival, yes?" Morgan nodded. "Well, then, you're going to need quite the partner. I warn you, she's rather tough."

How could she be? Wasn't she just as inexperienced as Morgan? Whatever.

"I have quite a selection. Or…" Birch looked over his shoulder slyly at her. "Would you prefer to keep the one you battled with already?"

Morgan blinked. "Uh… I don't know, is it a good one?" It occurred to her she'd been given no instructions on which starters to look for or how to choose one in general.

Birch laughed, again in a way that felt as though she was supposed to laugh along, yet made her feel the opposite. "Yes, yes, I assure you it's one of the higher grade options. For what Norman paid, you wouldn't get any 'better', only different."

Morgan shrugged. "Then sounds good to me."

"Excellent! Then if I can just see its ball and your Nav a moment?" Morgan handed them over, and after a few fiddlings both were given right back. "There! You are now fully registered as an official trainer, and Treecko is officially yours."

Morgan nodded. "Well, thank you!"

"I've also installed a PokeDex and the latest associated Nav app. This will keep track of every Pokemon you've seen and caught, provide you with information about them, and a number of other things. It's all fairly straight-forward, so just play around with it and you'll figure things out."

_Meaning you don't have an owner's manual printed up, eh?_ thought Morgan. Her sarcasm was outweighed by her awe, however. "That is.. really amazing. Thank you very much."

Birch nodded. "Now head home and get some rest, girl. Tomorrow, the games begin."


	4. Makeover

By the time Morgan made it "home", it was getting rather late. To her surprise, a luxurious dinner awaited her. Her sponsor seemed thrilled by her choice of starting Pokemon, and even invited him to have dinner with them, for which Morgan was quite grateful.

Afterward, she and Treecko were ready to retire to their room, but Genevieve insisted she had just a few more gifts to bestow. First was a bed for Treecko, which one of the Machoke Movers still lingering about was carrying up to the room now. And second was what could loosely be referred to as a hat.

It was the most God-awful piece of clothing Morgan had ever seen, and she had essentially zero interest in fashion. She had favorite colors, but valued comfort and function over appearance, and pure personal taste when the first two factors were about equal. Still, this thing… Who designed it? It was too long to actually fit on her head, yet didn't stand up like a top hat. It was almost like a giant sock stuck to a headband, but with little spikes as well for some reason?

But Genevieve seemed so eager to see her wear it, and she did always love red-and-white and hats as a general thing, at least… "Er… Thanks." Hesitantly, she put it on. "So does it do anything, or..?"

Her sponsor shook her head. "Oh no. This one's just a gift from me. I made it years ago for.. my little brother, but-" Her tone seemed to shift. "I never got the chance to give it to him." Morgan didn't ask. The usual smile returned. "But I'd love to see it finally get some use, and who knows? Perhaps if you become a celebrity the design will catch on~"

Morgan wasn't quite sure what to say to that, but did find herself appreciating the awkward apparel a little more. "Thanks then," she literally guessed. "I guess we're going to head to bed though."

Genevieve nodded. "Sleep well, dear!"

-

Morgan did have to hand it to her planning. She had bought several different Pokemon bedding options to be prepared for whatever starter Morgan chose, including one that came with a tree. He immediately took to it, and watching him scurry all around it proved rather soothing.

Despite the unsavory circumstances and questionable nature of this whole affair, she had to admit: this, right here in this moment, was nice. Perhaps if she played through this ridiculous game, she could have a set-up like this when it was over. Start a new life in this new land, with no constantly raging war, no daily fear of a miniature apocalypse, no Commander Ranik barking orders every five minutes.

Her thoughts wandered to said Commander and all the other people she'd be leaving behind, but… Hell. All of them were used to losing people by now, whether by death or deserting or just being forced separate ways and finding it difficult to stay in touch. She'd miss a few of them, but for all she knew, a few of them might be elsewhere in Hoenn, brought over like her. If she found any, perhaps they could tell her what exactly happened.

Meanwhile, for all those left behind knew, she was good as dead anyway. They'd move on. And while a tinge of guilt did plague her for considering just leaving them to their fate, she knew not one of them would blame her for getting out while she could- especially when, she realized now, _they_ could be dead by now; she had no way of knowing if there even were survivors back home. And without the people… She never had any special connection to Snaska, honestly- no sense of patriotism or duty. She fought to survive, not for king and country. And now she had a chance to not only survive, but perhaps even live.

As she thought of home, though, she waved a hand in front of her and muttered a phrase, then frowned when nothing happened. That much _would_ take some getting used to. But not everyone back home had magic, and she could hardly justify ignoring what was otherwise an overall improvement for the loss of what had always amounted to a luxury, if a highly useful one. She didn't even have proof it was the land making the difference; what if something had happened during the time she couldn't remember before arriving here?

Magic was _part_ of her… but perhaps Pokemon could fill that void in time?

She resolved to do her best to discover at least what had happened to her power, but drifted off a short while after this sentiment. Throughout the night to follow, it was not dreams of home and loss to fill her mind, but of future and promise.

-

The following morning, Treecko woke at what must have been nearly the crack of dawn, and quickly climbed to a higher branch of his tree to dive onto Morgan's face, waking her with a jolt. He clung there for a few moments as she flailed about before realizing precisely what was happening. Once she did, she laughed lightly. "Well, good morning to you, too, then."

He climbed down, and she got up to stretch and get dressed, realizing she'd slept in her hat. It was surprisingly comfortable, she had to admit. She supposed it wouldn't be so bad to keep up with.

Downstairs, she saw a cat of sorts stretched out on the kitchen table. "Hey kitty kitty."

"Oh that's Muffin, my Purrloin," called Genevieve from the next room. Naturally, Morgan had to stop and pet it.

A minute later, Genevieve came in with freshly brewed tea and a cup and bowl- for the Purrloin purrhaps? Morgan mentally laughed at her own lame pun even as her mouth began to water.

"Oh dear, your clothes."

Morgan looked down at the same robes she'd arrived in. "What about them?"

"You…" She looked slightly offended at having to explain this. "You can't wear that. You're going to be on tv. You have to look nice."

Morgan pursed her lips. She was very tempted to call out that insult, but… No honestly she was entirely right, the robe hadn't looked all that great when it was new let alone now. Once again, function over fashion and all.

"Did you not see the wardrobe I had for you?" she asked as she poured her tea.

"I…." Morgan recalled the frilly shirts, poofy dresses, and short-shorts she'd noticed in her room. "Oh, those were supposed to be for me?" She forced a weak smile.

"Of course, dear. Why else would they be in your room?" Morgan could not take her eyes off the cup as Genevieve took a sip.

"I… see. How uh… nice of you?"

Genevieve frowned. "Do you not like any of them?"

"Well I-... They're not.. really my style but-"

The woman set her tea down rather firmly. "Very well then." Oh no, was she angry? "It seems I have no choice." She rose and left the room, leaving Morgan's mind to wander through possibilities.

She told herself she'd find out soon enough, though, and turned her sights instead to the cup that had been left on the table. Carefully, she moved toward it. Surely she wouldn't miss one little sip, right? That would be a lot quicker and easier than trying to figure out where another cup was, at any rate.

Just as she reached for it, though, Genevieve returned, causing Morgan to startle and her hands to instinctively fly behind her back in a pitiful mockery of innocence.

The woman held out a card. "Here. You'll need this on the trip for various expenses anyway. I want you to go pick out a new wardrobe before your kick-off this afternoon."

Morgan took it. "But I thought..?" She looked to the Nav strapped to her belt.

"Oh the credits tracked by your Nav are just for trainer expenses. They're all the PokeMarts will take. This is for food, clothes, room and board when you can't find a Center- that sort of thing. Just try to keep it reasonable, all right?"

"I see…" She wondered just how much she could afford, given her other sponsor was apparently one of the most powerful men in the country. But given her utter lack of any concept of Hoenn's economy, she realized asking a number would be fairly pointless. "Th-thanks, but I'm really fine, you don't have to-"

"This is non. negotiable. dear." The corner of Genevieve's smile twitched. "You will find some clothes and you will look. nice. This reflects on my sweet Norman and me, you know~"

Morgan sighed. _Yet you insist I wear this hat_, she thought. All the same, she grudgingly accepted her fate and headed outside.

-

As she passed by the Birch house on the way to Littleroot's tiny commercial "district"- if one could call a street and a half a district- Morgan noticed quite a few Pokemon playing in the yard, and also Sera. She supposed it was normal for the professor's home to have so many of the little beasties running around, but she couldn't say she wasn't a little bit jealous all the same.

Currently, Sera was bathing a small blue Pokemon in a kiddie pool with one hand, while the other arm held a small yellow one. The prior had four legs but seemed otherwise aquatic, with orange fins on its face. The latter was a fluffy bird with orange fringe around its neck and orange crest on its head.

The blue one suddenly sprayed both the girl and other Pokemon with- Water Gun, Morgan was pretty sure. Sera laughed, but the bird was less amused, jumping down and shaking violently to dry itself. "Mudkip, you know Flash hates water."

Mudkip smiled sheepishly in response, and Flash seemed to go off on a small tirade.

Treecko decided this was a good time to leap off Morgan's arm and onto the fence of the yard, so Morgan shrugged and followed him. She and Sera would be seeing a lot of each other soon. She may as well say hi.

"Er…. hi?" Yes. Nailed it.

Treecko made himself rather more at home, running over to play with the other two Pokemon.

Sera looked up from turning off the water hose. "Oh, good morning!" She glanced to Treecko, then back to Morgan. "I'd heard you got your starter~ Is this him?"

"Yeah." Morgan nodded.

"What a cutie~ Did you name him yet?"

"Name-?" Right. Purrloin's name was Muffin, right? Of course they would name Pokemon here, like any animals. Even warsteeds got names, back home, if they were worth their salt. "Not yet," she answered, implying the thought had crossed her mind previously.

"That's okay~" Sera assured her. "This Torchic is named Flash, but Mudkip doesn't have a name yet either."

Morgan nodded again. "I'll think about it."

"So are you ready for the game to start?" Sera asked, sitting to play with the Pokemon as she spoke. Although her hands moved to pet and prod at them, her red eyes stayed firmly locked on Morgan's blue.

Morgan felt sort of awkward just hanging on the fence, but remained where she was regardless. "Almost. Sponsor says I have to go buy new clothes first."

"Oh how fun!" Sera exclaimed. "I wasn't gonna say it, but that should really help your early ratings."

_By the gods, I __**get**_ _it, my robe is shit,_ Morgan mentally muttered. _And what would you know about ratings anyway?_ "...Yeah. Should be uh… great."

"Can I come with~? I might pick up something new to mark the occasion myself."

Morgan shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

"Wobbuffet!"

"What?"

Sera giggled. "Nothing. You'll get it later~"

Morgan blinked. "O… kay then. I should probably be hurrying though, so…"

Her so-called rival jumped to her feet and trotted toward the door. "Just let me get my coat~"

"Ohh, look at this cute ribbon~" Sera chimed, tying the red accessory into her pink hair.

Morgan feigned a momentary interest before returning to her browsing. "Eugh.. Why is everything here so skimpy or frilly?" she mumbled to herself.

Sera responded anyway. "What do you mean? Of course it is." Morgan cocked an eyebrow, and Sera shrugged. "I don't know what you expected? It's… It's women's clothing. This is pretty normal in most places?"

"What? No hey I know frills are a thing but _most_ is probably an ov-..." Then she reassessed her statement. She looked to the one decent shirt she'd found thus far, then to the assortment of fluffy, frilly, form-fitting, low-cut, cut-off, or otherwise hyper-feminine clothing as far as the eye could see. (Of course the eye could see only about the next aisle or two over in any direction, but that wasn't the issue here.)

Promptly, Morgan spun and headed across the store.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To find some decent clothes."

-

Twenty minutes later, Morgan walked out of a dressing room in loose black-and-gray shorts that came to about her knees and a moderately dressy but sleeveless red shirt with a feminine cut. The latter had a few bows trimming it, but at least they were small- subdued compared to other options. And she did love this shade of red.

She found Sera standing before her in rather shorter and tighter black-and-white shorts and a brighter-red-and-black tank top that displayed quite a bit of cleavage. The ribbon from before had been shifted to tie up a high ponytail, though shorter locks still hung on either side of her face.

Looking over herself in the mirror, and then her rival, Morgan smirked. "It's kind of amusing how similar-yet-different our taste is."

Sera tilted her head into a small shrug as she laughed. Then turning a more critical eye toward Morgan, she remarked, "Not bad. ...But you know those are boys' shorts, right?" Something about the smile she held made it feel as though she were talking to a small child rather than a woman of similar age- if not a bit older than her.

Morgan frowned. "They're _comfortable_ shorts is what they are."

Sera did not seem to acknowledge this. "And what's with the hat? If you don't mind my saying so, it doesn't really seem to go with the rest of the outfit."

_Why yes I do mind._ "Sponsor insists," she said simply instead.

Sera shrugged. "All right then. I guess if you're happy with it~"

Morgan got the distinct feeling that Sera, in turn, was not, but dismissed it. She was right, after all. All that mattered was that Morgan liked it. And between the terrible heat thus far in this region and the amount of time she'd be spending in the wild, something cool and comfortable with multiple deep pockets would be far more practical than anything in the so-called "girls' section". Shirt-wise, she couldn't find anything that offered any better benefit than not being too hot, so she hoped this would satisfy Genevieve's request that she "look nice".

They checked out and removed all the tags from their new clothing. "I don't suppose you know exactly what time this whole thing is starting?" asked Morgan.

"Hm?" Sera checked the time on her Nav; it seemed she had one too, although it looked a bit different from Morgan's. "Oh, we still have a few hours." A mischievous smile slowly crept onto the girl's face.

Morgan felt a directly proportionate sense of dread rising. "What is it."

"Dooo you maybe wanna hang out until then?" Sera asked with a random whimsical spin.

Morgan searched for an excuse, but what else could she possibly have to do? Besides, friends close and enemies closer, right? She may not have been entirely sure just which category a rival in this competition would fall into, but either way dictated she accept the offer. "Eh… Why not."

"Wobbuffet!" Sera chimed again. Morgan facepalmed, yet knew it was futile to even ask.


	5. Sera, What?

"So… Are you nervous?" Sera asked as they left the store.

"Huh?" Morgan glanced her way.

"About your journey. Are you nervous?" Her hands locked behind her back, and her eyes held a bit too much interest for Morgan's taste.

"Well, yeah, I guess. I'm kind of worried about being able to do it more than 'nervous', but. It's not like I have much choice, you know?" She shrugged. "So I'm just trying to roll with it."

Sera nodded. "That makes sense."

Morgan nodded in turn, the hesitated before finally giving in to her sense of etiquette. "How about you?"

Sera offered an uneasy laugh. "If I had any more butterflies in my stomach I'd float away!"

Morgan found she was chuckling despite herself.

"But I'm really excited, too, honestly. I can't wait to meet all sorts of Pokemon!"

"I can see that," said Morgan.

"Oh look, there's a Pokemon now!" Morgan snapped to attention and wondered if she should have brought hers along for their shopping excursion, but she quickly saw that the Pokemon Sera was referring to was some sort of adorable purple butterfly-thing. It hardly looked threatening. "Hi there!" Sera called to it.

The Pokemon seemed to cheerily acknowledge them, so Morgan felt it polite to at least wave herself. The Pokemon appeared to appreciate it.

"She's a Venomoth," Sera informed her. "They aren't native to Hoenn, so it's a real treat to see her."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Littleroot is a small but really exclusive place to live, and a lot of the trainers here keep rare Pokemon either from past journeys or just as pets."

"I see," said Morgan. "So that one probably belongs to someone in the community then, right?"

Sera nodded, then turned to Venomoth. "So where do you live, hm?" The butter- or, moth apparently- let out a few squeaks and squawks in response. "Oh, really?"

Was… she was talking to the moth. A 'hi' was one thing but..

"That's interesting, huh."

No… She was having a conversation with the moth. Not.. that Morgan hadn't talked to Persey and even the horses she rode pretty often, but not.. generally in front of people, and she certainly never butted anyone out of the conversation to talk to something that couldn't talk back.

Sighing heavily, she decided it best to just ignore it. Sera seemed nice enough overall, and this wasn't the first eccentric behavior she'd shown. She'd probably get used to the quirks in time, right?

Together they arrived back at Sera's- or rather Birch's- home, where they had left the Pokemon to play in the yard. Currently, Treecko and the two Morgan had seen before were caught up in some sort of game with two fuzzy brown ones- Zigzagoon, Sera informed her- and a second Treecko a bit smaller than her own. ...And very apparently female.

"Hey stop that!" Morgan cried, flustered, as she rushed to the gate.

Treecko, upon hearing his trainer's voice, acknowledged her, but took his time in distancing himself from his newfound companion.

Morgan then remembered how PokeBalls worked, and promptly dug his out to recall him. Turning to Sera, she bowed her head apologetically. "I am.. so sorry about that. I- he's not very well-trained just yet, I guess."

Sera, however, only chuckled. "Oh it's no problem. The two seem to get along very well!"

The reference was lost on Morgan. "Be that as it may, it-"

"It's fiiiine. Believe me, no one would complain about having an extra Treecko egg magically appear. They're pretty rare."

For a moment, Morgan's instinct was to ask if it was okay that she took this one, then, but she quickly decided against it. She'd seen its strength in action and needed every advantage she could get.

"I guess. Not exactly what I was expecting to come back to, but I guess they are animals after all."

Sera cocked her head, looking suddenly borderline offended. "How do you figure?"

"...How do you not-figure?"

"I… Animals are a different thing. We have animals in captivity but most don't survive well competing against Pokemon in the wild. ...Everybody knows this?" Great. So it seemed Miss Know-it-all here was definitely from a Pokemon-inhabited region herself, then.

Morgan didn't feel like dealing with this. Just as she began searching for a subject change, however, one was provided for her.

"Oh, Flash, don't pick on them." Sera hurried inside to break up a pile of Torchic and Zigzagoon, wherein the prior kept jumping on the heads of the latter and pecking at them.

"So uh. Since Flash has a name, is he your starter or the family's pet or?"

Picking up the golden bird, Sera turned back to her rival with a bright smile. "Yup, he's mine, all right~!"

Hm. What type would he be? Flying? Grass was weak to that, right? This day just kept getting better.

"So is Mudkip, though~!" Sera added.

...And … better. "Say what."

"Well I mean, I've been taking care of both of them for years, and I couldn't bring myself to choose just one to bring along on my journey, you know?"

Morgan rubbed her temples. "...Of course. That certainly makes it better." Sarcasm dripped from each syllable. Then her brain clicked. "...Did you say years?"

Sera blinked, never fully losing her smile. "Yeah. Why?"

Her hand drug down her face in exasperation and disbelief. "Are you trying to tell me you've been waiting years to start this stupid game? What, were they waiting until you were matched with a suitable rival or something?"

Sera offered a confused laugh. "No? That's just.. how long it took to convince daddy to let me try it? ..And by 'convince'-"

"Dad-..?"

"-I mean I'm almost 18 now so he couldn't say no much longer. I'm sure they've-"

"Sera-"

"-told you it can get dangerous out there, but I've watched the games on tv since I was a kid and I've always dreamed of proving myself in them, and-"

"HOLD UP," Morgan interrupted louder. "Are you trying to tell me you're native to this sh-..place?"

Sera did frown now. "You didn't know?"

Morgan opened her mouth, then closed it. A deep breath. "Please.. Please don't tell me your dad is the damn professor."

"What's the problem with that?" Her face shifted to a pout.

Morgan facepalmed with an audible 'thap'. "Just.. I need to take this all in-"

"Hm, wha'd you say Flash?"

"Oh for fuck's sake."

Sera leaned in to the bird a moment, then without looking to Morgan replied, "I agree, she does seem a bit wound up."

"I'm right h-know what? I'm not doing this. I'll see you later." With that, she made sure she had her things and began to head back across the field to Genevieve and Norman's home.

"Huh? What?"

"Nope. See you at kick-off. Bye." She never looked back.

Sera gave a small whine as she was left alone with the Pokemon. "I wonder what her problem was?"

* * *

><p>"Were you aware that Sera Birch has two starting Pokemon?" Morgan asked as she dropped her bag loudly.<p>

When no response came, she instantly regretted wasting her dramatic entrance, yet found she had no energy to do it again. Instead, she took a seat at the dining room table. A teacup sat across from her, and against her better judgement she decided to take a peek, but found it empty. "Figures."

A few minutes later, Genevieve appeared. "Oh, it is you. I thought I heard so-... Is that what you're wearing?"

Morgan leered and reigned back a sigh, but to her relief the woman quickly shrugged it off. "Better than that filthy robe, at any rate."

I washed that like two days ago, Morgan thought with a huff.

"I suppose it does have a certain… je ne sais quoi, as well. Perhaps we can play you as having a sort of.. roughneck, tomboy angle. That could appeal to some audiences."

"Good luck with that," mumbled Morgan.

"Oh, but had you said something when you came in? Sorry, I was a tad busy."

The protagonist sighed and rubbed her head for a moment. "Did you know that Sera- Sera BIRCH, apparently- has two starters to my one?"

"What." The word came out as more of a hiss. Morgan was quite certain she had momentarily acquired laser vision, given the way she peered through everything. "Why that-"

The woman visibly collected herself and took a deep breath. "That's fine. Easy enough to fix, we still have about an hour. I'll just have to call dear Norman to let him know and pay the extra fee. Not a problem."

She crossed the room to where her purse rested and retrieved what looked like another sort of PokeNav, with a few more buttons. As she scrolled through some things on the screen (oh you could… touch the screen? That was pretty cool, Morgan thought), she asked, "Out of curiosity, what starters does she have?"

Morgan sought to recall their names. "Ah, M… Mudkip, a watery one. And.. what was Flash's species. The… It's a little bird, big head feathers, fluff around its neck, no visible wings."

"Torchic?" asked Genevieve, a slight glance over her shoulder.

"That sounds right. Is that the little yellow one with orange accents?"

"Hehh. I think you mean orange with yellow," came the confident response.

Morgan frowned. "No, I am definitely sure it was yellow with orange."

Genevieve's PokeNav hit the counter and clattered to the floor. She slowly turned back to Morgan, a too-wide smile pasted on her face and an eye twitching. Morgan startled a bit, unsure what could have caused such a reaction. "You're.. QUITE sure."

It did not really seem like a question, but Morgan nodded all the same.

"...Tell me, pet. Did this little bird seem to sparkle in any way?"

"Uh…"

"Did it catch the light more than other Pokemon you've seen." Her tone had dropped lower than Morgan would have guessed her voice could go, and each word was slow and enunciated. "Did it have a highly refractive quality? Did it look metallic, or pearlescent? Did. It. Fucking. Sparkle."

Morgan thought back. "I.. guess? I mean now that you mention it. I wasn't paying all that much attention to them so I'd have to see it again to be sure but-"

"That. Smug. BASTARD." She turned back toward the counter and a fist came down hard. "Did he honestly think he could-"

Again, she recomposed, breathing slowly, deeply. Her voice returned to normal. She turned back to Morgan with a smile. "Change of plans, dear. It seems given the particular circumstances, we can't just settle for any old Pokemon as your second starter, now can we?"

Morgan still wasn't sure what the issue was, but guessed, "...No?"

"You go get ready for your interview, my pet. It seems I have quite a few calls to make, but rest assured that we will do everything in our power to get you an appropriate Pokemon by your first Center stop."

"Uh… okay, but-"

Genevieve at last retrieved her Nav and made sure it was still working, then headed upstairs. "Run along now, dear."

"Hey, but-" And she was gone. Morgan sighed. "What interview?"

* * *

><p>Way-Too-Long AN: RL story time!

So, MONTHS before ORAS, before deciding we'd plan a fic, my bestie (Flora) and I decided our starters. She was going to get Treecko, because she always picks grass and Mega Sceptile is awesome. I love Blaziken, but I'm less fond of its Mega and Mega Swampert is pretty rad, so I figured I'd go Mudkip. But then I thought... hey! I never ran the event Torchic from XY, so I'll trade it over first chance I have and just have two starters. (We also decided that she would play Brendan and I'd play May. Much later, that anime-style short / glorified commercial came out wherein Brendan had a Treecko and May had both Mudkip and Torchic, and once I realized how well it aligned I died laughing and couldn't resist referencing it for this. x3)

When I went to get Torchic from X, I found I must have trained him a bit at some point because he was way too high to just assimilate into my team. So I thought, hey, abilities aren't that hard to pass. So I popped him into the Daycare with my foreign Ditto. Eventually got six eggs before the first one hatched, and it was Hasty (all would be thanks to Everstone; it's not the _best_ Nature but I figured I'd cut minor losses rather than gambling) with Speed Boost! I thought, all right, first try is totally usable. ... But I still had five eggs. So I kept biking.

After two more eggs I told Flora that I wasn't picking up any more eggs but was gonna finish hatching this handful before for-sure choosing one to send over. "I mean, it probably won't happen, but you never know; one COULD be Shiny. :B"

About that time RL distracted me. I noticed an egg was starting to hatch but didn't watch it. I glanced down shortly after- and **screamed** aloud before rushing to type to Flora, "HOLY FUCK IT'S SHINY." I didn't even get to see it hatch, but **LESS THAN A MINUTE** AFTER SAYING "it COULD be", I HAD HATCHED A SHINY TORCHIC. (Of course I've also hatched thousands of not-Shinies for other things, but "fourth egg (from this particular pair)" and the timing still seems great to me. xD) Better yet, only two got Speed Boost: the first one and the Shiny.

So his name is Flash- because it refers to fire, gold/sparkling, AND speed. :P

So yeah! Long story short, while I'm certainly taking liberties with the plot, Flash being Shiny is not a story affectation (though I'm having fun playing with that factor) nor a grand amount of preparation. Just legitimate luck~ ;D


	6. Kickoff

Oh. That interview. It seemed the whole "kickoff"event was less of a gunshot starting a race and more of a grand celebration, complete with interviews of the competitors.

"Well of course~" chimed Sera upon hearing Morgan's confusion. "I mean this could take months. It's not even unheard of to take over a year. You wouldn't expect our starting at the exact same second would be a big deal, right?"

"Of… course," sighed Morgan. She was really getting tired of dealing with condescending tones over things she had literally no way of knowing.

Whatever the case, she did her best to remain low and enjoy some of the food and festivities while Sera was doing her own interview.

"There you are! Miss Fayel! I'm Martin with Hoenn News Network. Might we have a word?" the reporter asked.

"It's- just call me Morgan. But yes, sure."

"Great! So Morgan. How do you feel about starting your very own grand Pokemon journey here in the Hoenn region?"

Morgan shrugged. "I uh.. It's definitely interesting. I-"

At that moment, Sera moved behind the camera man, shaking her head at Morgan.

"Uh?"

Sera gave a painful-looking smile, pointing to it with both hands.

"I mean, I'm also really happy!" she exclaimed, pasting on a smile that she hoped would be convincing; although she shot Sera a glance that silenty asked, 'right?'

Sera nodded vigorously, then began to do a bit of a silent cheer.

"And.. excited?" Another nod confirmed this. "It's very exciting."

The reporter did not seem entirely convinced, and offered a questioning look. "You don't seem very excited. Is something wrong?"

Sera shook her head at this, but Morgan didn't need advice for that.

"Not at all, Marvin- Martin," she corrected. "I'm just not.. very emotional. Outwardly, I mean. In general. But I promise you I am very.." She took a deep breath and smiled a little wider. "Very excited. It's just a lot to learn, a lot to take in. But I do love learning." This much, at least, was true.

"Well, that's great!" said Martin. "And how do you feel about your sponsors thus far- the Petalburg Gym Leader and his wife?"

"Well, I've only met one of them, but they seem…. uh…" She looked to Sera, who appeared to be gathering something. "Um?" Sera dropped whatever it was and instead quickly picked a few flowers and held them to Morgan. "..Romantic?"

Sera shook her head in frustration as Martin asked, "How do you mean?"

Cover time! "Oh uh. They're.. a married couple, you know? And she seems to care about him an awful lot. So I'm sure I'll like him when I finally meet him?" Of course, apparently she already had? But that was a much longer story than she felt anyone would care to deal with.

Sera gave a visible sigh of relief, and Morgan echoed with an invisible one. "I see," replied Martin.

"Other than that…" Sera offered the flowers again, then added another, and another, re-emphasizing the gesture of pushing them to Morgan each time. "They're… giving? ..Oh! Very generous. That's uh. That's the word I was looking for." Sera dropped the flowers and picked up what she'd had before, bringing the pile of green as close as she could without getting into the camera's line of vision. Was that grass? No.. Oh, clovers? "I feel very lucky!"

"How sweet!" replied Martin. Sera again silently cheered, tossing the clovers like confetti- then cringing and blushing as a few drifted past the camera's lens. Morgan cringed slightly too, but it seemed if anyone else noticed their game of charades no one seemed to care.

"And can we meet the Pokemon that will be accompanying you?"

"Sure." Retrieving her singular PokeBall, she released her partner, who conveniently materialized in her lap. "This is Cerberus," she said, having decided on a name just before arriving.

"_Cerberus_," echoed Martin. "What a funny name for a Treecko."

"Well, three heads are better than one," Morgan responded flatly.

Martin offered a generic laugh. "What a funny trainer." Sera, on the other hand, facepalmed to a degree that looked painful. Morgan took more pleasure than she should have in her rival's reddening face. "Forgive me for asking, but we noticed your rival had two Pokemon. Might you as well?"

"Not yet," Morgan answered, to Sera's surprise.

The man's brows quirked. "Oh? So you will be receiving one then?"

"Soon," Morgan said with a nod. Before he could ask, she added, "It's a surprise."

To Morgan's own surprise, Sera gave a silent but gleeful clap at this revelation. Martin approved as well. "I suppose we shouldn't expect any less from a player of Norman's, right folks? I'm sure Morgan here will have all kinds of surprises in store for us!"

The interview continued in that manner a little longer. They asked Cerberus to show off a bit for the camera, commented on Morgan's hat, and asked a few more questions about the actual event that Morgan felt unqualified to answer. All the while, Sera did her best to coach Morgan into answers that the audience wanted to hear.

Upon finally getting away, Morgan huffed heavily with relief. Seeing Sera approach, Morgan forced a smile. "Hey uh.. Thanks- I think."

"No problem~" Sera dropped to a crouch to scratch Cerberus as she spoke. "I've seen probably dozens of newbie interviews. Enough to know what kinds of answers the press eats up, anyway."

"Uh-huh." Morgan wasn't quite sure if that was reassuring or scary. "And did I.. more or less get those answers or?"

"Oh you did great!" she exclaimed, looking up to Morgan now.

"I agree," came Genevieve's voice, and Morgan turned to see her approaching as well. "A bit awkward, of course, but it ought to be just enough to be endearing." Morgan thought she should maybe be a little offended by that assessment, but instead found it oddly reassuring. At least she had confirmation Sera had, indeed, been helping rather than leading her to play the fool.

"You found such a great candidate, Miss Genevieve~" remarked Sera.

The woman's eyes fell cold as she literally looked down on the youth. "Sera," was her only acknowledgement. The teen, in turn, recoiled just slightly, her face falling to a frown.

Morgan made a point of looking around at the decorations. _I don't see anything awkward happening here. Nope, not at all._

"Oh. Dear. It's almost time for the coin toss."

"The what?"

Sera stood. "You didn't know?"

..._I swear if I hear something to that effect one more time._ She would… She'd.. She'd be slightly even more frustrated and do nothing still, but **just the same**… "Guess not."

"Well, see, if we leave town at the same time, we'll be basically walking side by side for a lot of it and that's kind of limiting, ya know?" explained Sera.

Genevieve nodded. "The idea behind the rivalry aspect is that you are traveling the same general route and keeping relative pace, but you're doing so separately. To give you both the most room to grow and improve as individuals, while also _occasionally_ meeting up to battle or work together."

"I suppose that makes sense," commented Morgan. She was more used to group travel herself, but she'd have her Pokemon for that role. It might be nice to see the world without someone constantly barking at her. Hell, she was already getting used to being called 'Morgan' rather than 'mage' or 'you there'.

"So to make sure that we're split but not too far apart, they'll toss a coin in a minute, and the winner gets a 30 minute head start!" Sera concluded. "Afterward, they'll keep track of our pacing and let us know if one is getting too far ahead of the other, of course." Morgan nodded her acknowledgement. "Oh hey, it's about to start, c'mon!"

-

Sera won. Of _course_ Sera won. Even rolling her eyes felt like too much energy for Morgan to expend at this point.

So Littleroot's prized teen said her dramatic farewells to the camera crew and trekked off into the wilderness, and the young woman from another land was left to wait.

And wait.

She got to sample a few more hors d'oeuvres, which she supposed was a plus, and loaded her bag with some of the drier foods. There was also a pleasant alcoholic punch she was only just old enough to sample by this country's standards, although they discouraged her from having too much: a decision with which she agreed.

Then round came a waiter, and on his plate glistened a beautiful tea set. She debated it for just a moment, but decided there was no harm in at least trying. Heading his way, she called, "Wa-"

"Morgan!"

"Oh for fuck's sake."

"It's time, come on." Genevieve physically ushered Morgan toward the town line like a dog herding sheep. Or a… Morgan didn't know enough Pokemon yet to make an analogy but she was sure there were some good ones.

"Can I just-"

"No."

"But it would only take-"

"I told you to be here at four sharp. That was three minutes ago."

"I-" Morgan sighed and picked up her pace toward her fate.

There was much grandeur, but it all felt distant and strange, as though Morgan were watching it rather than being the center of it. She smiled and waved and played the part, but it all seemed mechanical.

At least until Cerberus hopped up on her shoulder, and brought her consciousness back into herself. With his dramatic waves and bows, he was certainly a crowd-pleaser. Yet he, at least, felt real. And at that moment, Morgan felt a tinge of relief. This little lizard would be her partner, and she his. They would count on each other.

And wasn't that, allegedly, what a Pokemon journey was really about?

With a deep breath to steady herself, then, Morgan took her first steps out into the wild as an official Pokemon trainer.

-

A/N: Yes of course it took this many words just to get them actually on their journeys, sssshhh.


	7. Training 101

Morgan found the first route anticlimactically peaceful after all that build-up. And after that Poochyena (as her Dex had informed her) had been so aggressive before. She saw a good number of Pokemon, including a scant few more Poochyena, but they all kept their distance for the longest time, leaving her and Cerberus to enjoy a nice, peaceful hike over the handful of lightly-forested hills.

Finally, as she passed under one small tree, a red blur fell right in front of her, causing her to jump back. It was one of those fuzzy bugs she'd seen wriggling about. Startled, it flailed about until it found its feet and shot a white, sticky substance at Morgan.

"Eugh!" Stumbling back, she did her best to pull it off. For some reason it made her feel much dirtier than it should have. Meanwhile, Cerberus had jumped in to defend her, whacking the caterpillar with his tail without command.

As she pulled the bulk of the gunk off, the realization hit: "Oh, hey, I guess this counts as first combat." She pulled out her Nav, which brought up the battle interface as well as informed her that her foe was called Wurmple. Annnd it seemed that was the most information the Dex could give at a glance. Fair enough, though, and better than nothing. As before, the battle scan also gave her its sex (male it seemed), a relative idea of its health and a comparison of its combat skills compared to Cerb's, measured by "level".

The informational video she'd watched in the van had explained how to capture a Pokemon, so now was Morgan's time to test herself. She knew if she wasn't careful, she could kill the creature rather than merely weakening him; in addition, she'd like to keep him in as good of condition as possible to allow her to use him before needing to heal her team. However, she also knew that the healthier a Pokemon was, the harder it would be to capture.

So she used precise timing when commanding Cerberus, and kept a close eye on the vital scan. When the worm appeared to be at half health, she decided it was time to use-

….

"I don't have any PokeBalls, do I." _Good job, Genevieve. Best preparation, 10 of 10. … Ugh._

"Cerberus, take evasive action. Try to keep it here without hurting it too much more." Cerberus gave her an odd look, and she wondered how much of that he actually understood, but after a few moments he seemed to comply well enough.

With a sigh, Morgan switch the Nav to its phone function, finding Genevieve's number. _Ring ring… Ring ring…_

"_Morgan?" _came the voice through the Nav. "_What is it? Not run into trouble already, have you?"_

"Kind of," the trainer answered.

"_What on earth could it be? That Wurmple hardly looks like a challenge."_

"Well I-" She stopped, grimacing. "You're.. watching me?"

"_Of course? Well I mean I hadn't been, right as you called. But I switched to the broadcast when you did."_ Silence. "_...Did you not understand what I meant by your Nav tracking your progress? It plays off and on while you're awake, and automatically activates whenever you get into a battle as well."_

Morgan _really_ shouldn't have been surprised. "Right… But hey, so. This is my first battle in this area but I don't have any PokeBalls?"

A pause. "_No one does, dear? ...__**Oh.**_ _That's my fault, isn't it, I think I forgot to tell you. You won't get any PokeBalls until you reach the first town. It's to give you some time to bond with your starter and all. Don't worry, you can come back out to 101, the battles won't count against you until you actually __**can**_ _catch them."_

Morgan rubbed her temple. "Well. That would have been very nice to know."

"_I wouldn't dawdle too long, though, dear. Wurmple sometimes have-"_

About that time, said Wurmple got tired of the lizard running circles around it and led its shot. Rather than the same sticky webbing, however, it now shot what looked like tiny pins. They connected dead-on- and holy shit that hurt!

_Wurmple used Poison Sting! It's super-effective!_ the battle analysis informed her.

"_-that,"_ finished Genevieve. "_I'll let you get back to your battle. Good luck, dear!"_ Beep.

"Shit." Morgan huffed. "Well, finish it off then!"

A somewhat weak Cerberus complied, putting everything he had into his next Pound. This didn't quite take out the Wurmple, but did scare it enough that it fled. The Nav consequently informed Morgan that Cerberus had become more experienced as a result of the fight.

"...No. Really? Do you imagine that would happen?" she asked the inanimate object.

With a sigh, she noted he still seemed rather weak, however, and decided to recall him for now.

As she continued, she found she felt very alone without his company. She missed Staugh's rhetoric. Even Ranik's yelling or Yato's whining would have been tolerable at the moment. The scenery was gorgeous and the sounds were largely peaceful, and had they been more familiar she may have found them relaxing. But as it was, she found it finally fully dawning on her what it meant to be entirely alone in a place both wild and unknown.

But it was worse than that, wasn't it? Because she was alone, yet apparently had no privacy. Heavens knew how many eyes on her, yet no one to talk to. She resolved to get as many Pokemon as she could to always have one with her for company as soon as possible, but that did nothing to quell the awful feeling _now… _

After some half-hour of this, a noise caught her attention, and she noticed two Zigzagoon getting into some sort of scuffle not terribly far away.

...Those didn't have anything like the Wurmple's poison, right?

Lightly coughing to herself, she casually released Cerberus, who looked around questioningly at their surroundings. Morgan coughed again and tilted her head toward the bickering pair. In a soft voice, she said, "You wanna… Absorb one? I don't care which."

Cerberus blinked, but then nodded. Getting just close enough to be in range, the Treecko picked the slightly smaller of the two Zigzagoon and began to glow, just as it had before. Cerberus quickly grew stronger, and his victim grew weaker. By the time he was done, he was only in fair (albeit much better) health, but the other was barely clinging to life. The larger Zigzagoon quickly took care of that, causing Morgan to cringe.

_That's.. That's nature. It was bound to happen either way,_ she told herself, pushing aside any thoughts threatening to turn into guilt. "You're welcome," she muttered to the remaining Zigzagoon instead.

It, in turn, cocked its head, seeming to understand less than Cerberus. It didn't seem to deem her a threat, however, and casually walked away toward a thicker part of woodland.

What happened next, however, caused Morgan to jump back about two feet. The corpse of the slain Zigzagoon suddenly phased, then _disappeared._

"What… the hell?" A chill went through her spine, and she suddenly recalled that the Poochyena before had left no trace either. "What is going on here?"

-

It was beginning to get dark, sunset fading into twilight, when Morgan finally crested the final hill and saw the first town on her route below. She'd only been on her journey for a few hours, but it was still a very welcome sight.

No sooner did she cross the town line than her Nav began to ring.

"Naturally."

It was Genevieve, congratulating her on making it by nightfall. Morgan wasn't sure if she appreciated the vigilance or found it overbearing, but she supposed she'd take it for what it was worth.

Her benevolent sponsor then proceeded to explain the notable features to look for in each town. Apparently, she could identify Pokemon Centers and Marts by their roof colors. _Or…. I could read the signs?_ she thought dryly. _Is she telling me there are no other buildings in the whole country with red or blue shingles? What, did they copyright __**colors**__?"_

All the same, she just politely thanked her as she strolled through town.

"_It's late, and Sera got into town a while ago, so you should probably rest for the night. Don't want to be late heading out in the morning,"_ said Genevieve.

"I'd kind of like to catch some more Pokemon, honestly. Besides, I'm used to late hours-"

"_But the viewers are not,"_ her sponsor answered firmly.

Morgan sighed. "This is another one of those non-negotiable things, isn't it." She didn't need to wait for an answer, but one came regardless.

"_Try to keep your important activities to daylight and early-evening hours, dear. When you have to make camp, if something happens, viewers can always catch the stream the next day, but most prefer to watch live when they can."_

"Yeah, yeah. So should I call when I wake up or?"

"_Oh no, that's fine. Just get up and on your way like it's natural. Just not before sunrise."_

"Yeah. K." A thought suddenly occurred. "...Hey."

"_What is it, dear?"_

"So are viewers listening to our phone call right now, or…?"

Genevieve laughed, causing Morgan to regret asking. "_Only your end. Although mine is being recorded as well. It's just not broadcasting."_

"Of course." Sleep was sounding more and more enticing. "...You uh.. You _won't_ be watching me sleep, right?"

"_Don't worry, you're safe there. Regular broadcasting will end soon anyway, and only pick up if it detects something significant going on. But whatever time of day, it shuts off when you go to sleep."_

_Thank the gods. _..Did this place have gods? She was going to have to find out some time. Of course, she wasn't entirely sure if she was comfortable with just how… _integrated_ this little machine had become into her life. But she couldn't deny its convenience at the same time.

"Ah, there's the Center, it looks like. Guess I'm about to turn in for the night, then. …. Good night?"

Genevieve chuckled. "_Sleep well, dear."_

As Morgan approached the Center door, she had a thought, and although she felt ridiculous doing so, she decided to hold the Nav out in front of her. ….Where was the camera on this thing, anyway? Or was it.. 360 somehow? Apparently obstruction hadn't been a problem _so_ far…

Whatever the case, she held it up with one hand, and waved toward it with the other. "And good night, fans!" Cerberus picking up on the gesture and striking a pose of her own only made her feel that much cheesier.. yet she was fairly certain she could actually _hear_ Genevieve's smile.

She was so far from cut out for this, but dammit, she was going to make it work.


	8. Roadblock

The next morning, Cerberus awoke before Morgan once again, although with no tree the headboard had to serve as his diving board. Once again, Morgan shot up, but this time it only took her a moment to realized what was happening.

Chuckling as she removed the lizard from her face, she asked, "Planning to make this a morning routine, are you?"

"Cko."

Always nice to receive a straight answer.

Cerberus made himself useful checking for any stray things of Morgan's in the room as she got dressed, and together they made it out the door in good time. The trainer was feeling quite proud of herself, waking with such ease so early despite her shift in schedule. Why, it was barely 9.

As she headed through the Center lobby, a voice called out. "Excuse me, miss! Are you Morgan Fayel?"

Morgan spun to see a blonde in business attire sporting a symbol she did not recognize. "Who's asking?"

"I'm with the Pokemon League. I was asked to give you this gift on behalf of your sponsor." The woman dug through a fannypack at her side, then held a strange PokeBall out to Morgan. While every other she'd seen was red and white with a black trim, this one was entirely red.

"Oh, huh. I guess this is my second starter then?" she asked as she accepted the ball.

The woman nodded. "I'll just need your Nav for one moment." Morgan handed it over, and with a few buttons pressed it was given right back. "All registered! Enjoy your new partner."

"Well, thank you very much."

"Of course." Without missing a beat, she went right along. "I'm also to inform you that Miss Birch headed north about an hour ago." She what? ...Of _course_ she did. "You'll find the route to be a dead-end for now, so you should take a little time to get to know your new Pokemon before meeting her there, as this would be a grand opportunity for your first battle."

Morgan suppressed a sigh, but the League woman didn't seem to notice.

"Good luck on your journey, Miss Fayel!" said the woman with a bow.

As she turned to leave, Morgan started, "It's actua-" … Never mind.

Shaking her head, she thought instead of the PokeBall. "What do you think it'll be?" she asked the Treecko on her shoulder. He, in turn, gave her a look that she supposed was about the equivalent of a shrug. "Well excuse me for asking then," she mock-pouted.

Once she made it outside and a reasonable distance from the Center, she brought it out again. The shadowy form she could see through the top seemed more vague to her than Cerberus did in his ball. And without knowing what to expect or how large it would be, she thought it best to make sure she had plenty of room before releasing it.

When she did, she realized that the shadow had not been less vague at all; the Pokemon was actually that simply shaped: a tube of what appeared to be metal with a circular joint one side and several spikes on the other. Also, it floated. "Dnnnmmmmmmm," came the metallic hum.

"What… the hell?" It wasn't even an animal? Some Pokemon in the video had shapes that looked less familiar to her than others, but this… She had no idea they were this diverse. "Nav, don't fail me now…" She consulted the all-knowing device and mumbled the results aloud. "Beldum.. magnets… hooks.. magnetic.. magnets.. … Hm. So, Beldum, huh? Well, if Genevieve thinks you're a good answer to Flash, then welcome to the team."

She smiled at the Pokemon. It, in turn, continued to hover in place. It had a single red spot which may or may not have been an eye, but if so, it too remained still.

Morgan shrugged it off, however. "Right, I should name you." She checked its- or…. hm. There was no gender shown so Morgan supposed "its" was actually correct. At any rate, she checked its bio analysis for statistic information, a useful feature she'd found last night. "Hm, guess you're way too slow to be a Quicksilver," she mused. "Though… Oh wow! You're gonna be a tough guy- er, thing, huh?"

A slightly belayed, "Dnnnnnn."

"Hmmm. You know, I get how magnets work, but you're still floating, so I'm gonna pretend you're really light. Specifically, lightweight silver that's harder than steel." Both Cerberus and Beldum remained still and quiet. Cerberus blinked once or twice, slowly. ...Morgan sighed. "Mithril. I- your name is going to be Mithril."

Still nothing. Then finally, "Dnnnnnn."

Morgan forced a smile. "You two are riveting. C'mon, we should go shopping before we leave town if we want to expand the conversation. Heh."

-

"_What do you mean they're out of PokeBalls?"_ Genevieve asked.

"I didn't stutter. But what now?"

A distorted sigh came through the Nav. "_Well.. I guess keep track of all the places you visit until you get some. You'll be free to backtrack as much as need be for your route-ly catch attempt. My apologies: if I'd known I would have had the girl bring some."_

Morgan rubbed her head a bit, but then brushed it off. "You couldn't have known."

"_That's strange, though. I don't think I've ever seen a Mart run out. Not once, in-"_ She caught herself. "_Well, more years than you've been alive, at any rate."_

At this point, Morgan wasn't even surprised.

-

Morgan found Route 103 much the same as 101, albeit more densely forested. There were even many of the same Pokemon, a few of whom she fought on her way through. Mithril proved just how dense that armor really was as Zigzagoon after Poochyena tried to so much as phase it. Once a bird- excuse her, Wingull- threatened to give it trouble, but Cerberus quickly took care of that, proudly resisting its Water Gun. Morgan was really starting to feel she was getting the hang of this whole type match-up thing.

At last, she spied a flash of red darting behind a tree up ahead. "Oy! Sera?" she called out, running to catch up.

The pinkette stepped back out into the open, and upon seeing Morgan over her shoulder spun around excitedly. Mudkip ran behind her. "Oh, hey! What took you, Slowpoke~? I was about to come back and start looking!" She giggled.

_Don't…_ Morgan thought, but she forced a smile. "You know. Battling, training up," she offered, straining for pleasantry.

"Ooh~ So what Pokemon did you catch?"

It took all her willpower not to physically react. "Nothing yet. The store was out of PokeBalls."

"Were they?"

_Don't say it._

"They had plenty when I went."

_She fucking said it._

"I even caught this Zigzagoon," she said, holding up a PokeBall.

Morgan always prided herself more on intelligence than willpower anyway, and as such she gave in to a face palm. "Of course you did." At least Zigzagoon didn't seem to be threatening in any way.

"Huh?" asked Sera. Morgan wasn't sure what was confusion, but when she looked up, she found Sera looking not at her, but at Mithril.

"Oh. Yeah, h- it's my second starter." Morgan didn't think she was comfortable calling Mithril an it. ...Maybe xe.

"Yeah, I heard."

_How?_ thought Morgan. ...Right. Probably the constantly televised feed of their journeys. Okay.

"Super congratz, though! And he sparkles just like Flash, how cool!"

"Does he- xe? … Why do you say he?" If she was Birch's kid, Morgan supposed it couldn't hurt to ask, but Sera responded with a blush.

"Oh uh.." She grinned sheepishly. "You know. He just seems like a dude? I guess Beldum don't really have a physical sex though."

"Ah. I was thinking of going with xe, and maybe xir? As pronouns, I mean."

Sera looked perplexed a moment, but then turned to Mithril again. "Hm?" She nodded. "Yeah, xe seems to like that fine~" she chimed.

Morgan quirked an eyebrow as she turned to Mithril, who remained as still as ever, and who also still seemed no more sparkly to her than metal rightly should be, but she digressed. "If you say so."

About that time, both their Navs beeped in unison. As Morgan instinctively began to grab hers, Sera just laughed. "Whoops! I think they're telling us to get on with the battle."

"Ah. Okay, sure."

"If you don't mind, I think I'll leave Wander out of this one. The Zig I mean. I just caught him and he's in pretty poor shape. So what do you say. Starts versus starters, one-on-one?"

"Sounds fine to me."

"And no casualties, right? I mean, it wouldn't be very fun for anyone if we didn't keep things friendly between us." The giggle to follow only made Morgan more confused.

"Iiii… did not realize that was a concern? But yeah uh. Of course."

The girls found a nice open space nearby and took paces. Cerberus climbed down Morgan's arm and hopped to the ground; he and Mithril each took place at her side. Meanwhile, Mudkip did the same for Sera, and she released Flash to take her other.

The PokeNavs began to beep again, and although it was only beeps, Morgan could practically hear them saying, _3… 2…. 1….. GO!_

"Flash, let's go!" called Sera, and the golden bird took centerfield.

...Huh. Morgan supposed she could see a bit of sparkle to him now. She wondered why that seemed like such a big deal to people, though. But back to the task at hand, she realized she'd never seen for sure what type he was. Assuming Flying due to his shape, Morgan answered, "Mithril, you first!"

The pairs stared each other down a moment, then at last the girls called out in near unison, "Take Down!" "Ember!"

The quicker bird began to form hot flames in its mouth, and Morgan's arms went limp. "...Say _what._"

-

The battle was over quicker than it began, and a very disgruntled Morgan recalled both of her charred and injured Pokemon. "I need a fucking Wingull," she muttered under her breath.

"Wha'd you say?" asked Sera, approaching.

"Nothing." Morgan sighed and shifted to a smile. "It's all right. Perhaps soon enough I'll figure out which act of heresy I'm being punished for and be able to apologize to whichever god I offended."

Sera stared blankly.

"Never mind."

"Oh, but hey, you should let me heal your Pokemon!" her rival insisted, digging out some potions. … Morgan didn't actually know that some of them were _called_ potions; she just recognized strange liquids with healing properties in vials as being such.

"Hey, you don't have to do that. Don't waste your money on-" But Sera was already swiping a ball from her, and the nozzle of the bottle was pressed to the button of the ball. Even as Sera pulled the trigger, Morgan's Nav made a sound to indicate that a Pokemon was in much better health.

"Don't be silly. We wouldn't want you walking around without protection."

Now Morgan felt a bit guilty for being so short with her up to now. "That's… actually really sweet, thank you."

"No problem~" sang Sera as she took Morgan's other Pokemon.

"You should let me pay you back when we pass back through Oldale." Come to think, Morgan probably should have bought potions previously even if the PokeBalls were sold out. Whoops.

"Hm? Oh, no, really it's _no_ problem! I have loads of these."

Morgan… wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "But.. we're on a limited budget, right?"

"Well, yeah," Sera answered.

_Good, for a second I thought it was just me._

"But I mean, that's just what daddy's allowed to pitch in. I've got over a decade of saved allowances to put into this too." She chuckled.

"But…" _Credits…? Poke-..._ Morgan gave up.

"What's that, Mudkip? … Oh, you're right!"

"Dare I ask."

"Mudkip feels really bad that we probably bought the last of the PokeBalls in stock, so here! You should take these!"

"Sera I-" Actually. No. No Morgan was not going to bother arguing.

The red-cloaked girl counted out 10 balls out of apparently a good number more stuffed in her basket. "Here~! That should make things a lot easier. So be sure to have lots of new Pokemon for me to fight next time we battle, all right~?"

_Here, let me keep showing off my vast excess of expendable funds, because there's absolutely no way this could be condescending!_ Morgan mentally mocked. _Oh, what? __**Mudkip**_ _says you're a pathetic trainer. Aren't I __**so**_ _damned adorable, __**teeheehee**__? ….Blugh._

By the time Morgan came out of her thoughts, she found Sera heading off already. "See yoooouuu!"

She couldn't exactly say she was heartbroken. "Byyyye," she feigned sweetly, then rolled her eyes.

"_Now_," Morgan huffed, finally alone. "About that Wingull…"

-

She did not catch a Wingull. In fact, Cerberus accidentally killed the next Pokemon they encountered, so Morgan caught nothing.

Deciding to try 101 again, she cut her way across Oldale, stopping for Potions on her way through. Of course, _now_ they'd gotten in a shipment of PokeBalls, but she decided she'd be fine on those for now.

The day had really flown by. It was already mid afternoon by the time she reached 101 again.

"All right, so… Here, Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokemon…"

Nothing ventured too close for a while. At last, a Wurmple found itself within her sights- only to be promptly pounded until it ran scared, leaving Morgan no time to attempt capture. "And I guess we'll have no 101 Pokemon either. Well, shit."

Then, just as she was heading back toward town, Morgan heard a voice that made her cringe.

"Morgan! Over here!"

… Not again. Why was she shout-whispering? Against her better judgement, Morgan humored her rival. "What is it?" she asked as she approached, also remaining quiet.

"See that? There's a Pokemon over there!" Sera pointed in dramatic fashion to what was clearly the butt of a Poochyena.

Morgan deadpanned. "...This is a wild habitat. They tend to do that. Existing and all."

Sera smirked and rolled her eyes. "Of course, silly. But _this_ one has a rare move!"

"...I'm listening. How do you know?"

"Just look!" She held up her PokeNav, which seemed to be issuing some sort of radar. Morgan didn't catch all the information listed before Sera took it back, but she could see it was much more than the battle screen. "If you haven't used it yet, this is the DexNav, by the way."

Morgan vaguely recalled that name, she thought. She was definitely going to have to figure out how to use that now.

"Whenever the DexNav detects an especially noteworthy Pokemon nearby, it'll inform you. Then you just have to sneak up on it!" Still, she whispered loudly.

"I see. That sounds pretty neat, actually."

"Here, watch me. I'll show you how!"

"...how to…?"

"You have to move veeeeryy….."

"Are you showing me how to _sneak_?"

"Quietly….."

"Sera, you know-..."

"Big…. easy…."

"I may have been a mage and not a rogue-"

"Steps…"

"But seriously, I promise you."

"Don't…"

"It's not…"

"Wanna…"

"Rocket science…"

"Scare 'em."

"I get... the idea..."

Yet Sera did actually surprise her, as when she got close enough she just… sort of… stuck her foot out and _poked_ the Poochyena.

"A model rogue if I ever saw one," Morgan muttered to herself.

Yet somehow it worked, as the Poochyena engaged in combat. It appeared the fuzzball knew how to produce fire in its mouth, but rather than shoot it like Flash's Ember, it used it to bite. Mudkip was not terribly concerned. Together, he and Sera made quick work of the Poochyena, who the girl proceeded to capture.

"Awesome!" cheered Sera. "Great job, Mudkip. And that makes four~"

"Er… Congratz? ...Was that really your first Pokemon since coming back to the route?" Morgan asked, just a touch skeptic.

Sera grinned sheepishly. "Well… I may have avoided the more populated areas and watched my step to avoid combat until the DexNav found something, but it still was yeah."

Although 'cheater' was the first word to come to mind, the words Morgan found herself instead saying were, "...Huh. That is a really great idea."

"Right?" Sera giggled. "Man, I can't imagine being one of the poor losers doing a challenge like this before the DexNav was invented. It's a pretty recent thing, you know. Only some of the most recent entrants have had it before us."

_And the most wealthy_, Morgan guessed, but she supposed in this case she wouldn't look the gift horse in the mouth. ...Ponyta. She remembered that one from her video. A gift Ponyta, yes perfect. She was totally becoming an official uh.. Pokemon..world...er. Yeah, nailed it.

"But we should be moving again. I think I'm gonna head to the Pokemon Center in Oldale and get these guys healed up before moving on. You.. heading that way per chance?" The way her eyes pleaded, Morgan couldn't decide if she was sad or ecstatic to let her down.

"Nah, mine are pretty good. Plus I already blew my chance here so I want to go try out the DexNav on the next route."

"Daww.." For a moment Morgan almost believed the pout to follow, but it soon cleared up. "Ah well~ This is really better anyway. See you around again, rival!"

They part ways again, and Morgan did hope it would take a little longer to bump back into each other this time.

-

She decided rather than cut all the way back through Oldale, practically on Sera's heels, it would be much easier and faster to just cut the corner outside of town between the routes.

As Morgan approached the far side of the designated path, she could see the trees grew much thicker. _Makes sense_, she thought. _Road less traveled. ...Or lack of road, rather._ But she was only going maybe a few hundred feet at most, and she felt quite at home in dense woods. Although her lanky build may have seemed a touch clumsy, she was surprisingly light on her feet when it came to that sort of thing. Surely it would be enough to shave a half hour or so off her route, at any rate.

The moment her foot hit the line, her PokeNav began _blaring_.

"_**WARNING. YOU ARE TOO CLOSE TO THE BOUNDARY LINES. PLEASE, STEP AWAY FROM THE BOUNDARY LINES."**_****

"What the hell?!" she fumbled and nearly dropped the device in her search for a mute button. Cerberus abandoned her shoulder, and even Mithril seemed bothered by the noise, beginning to make a few uncomfortable sounds of xir own as xe backed away.

"_**-SE TO THE BOUNDARY LINES. PLEASE, STEP AWAY-"**_

"I'm _stepping, _I'm _stepping_!" exclaimed Morgan. Once she'd put herself well back within the map's range, the blaring stopped. A few moments later, it was replaced by an all too friendly sounding _ding-__**dang**__-dong~_

"_Greetings~"_ chimed a robotic but feminine voice. "_This is Navalie, your personal PokeNav assistant. This is a __**friendly**_ _reminder that Trainers are under __**no circumstances**_ _to leave the designated map areas while traveling on a League Journey. __**This**_ _is for your __**own**_ _safety! __**Remember!**_ _The Pokemon League __**cares**__. Stay safe, trainer!" _The voice shifted to a male, who spoke in a more subdued and less sing-songy tone. "_This message provided by Devon Corp and the Pokemon League. Train on!"_

Still catching her breath, Morgan once again eyed the boundary, and then her Nav again. "What… the hell." Another deep breath. "That's oddly… _exact_ on the map boundaries, huh?" Cerberus shuddered, and Mithril hung closer than usual as they began to walk again. "Guess we're going around after all." Morgan meant the words to be light and teasing, but the Pokemon's lingering reactions may have spooked her more than the surprise blaring.


End file.
